What it is
A fence line is a strip, not a block, and it is priced and worked as one. The machine follows a corridor wide enough for somebody to build in, walk, and get a mower down later — which is usually wider than owners picture, because a line cleared to exactly the width of the fence is a line that is grown in again in two seasons.
The work comes up in three situations and they are not the same job. A new line being run where none existed. An old line being replaced, where the existing fence is in the way of its own removal. And a maintained line that has simply been let go, where nothing is being built and the point is to see the boundary and mow it again.
East Tennessee lines run up and over, not across. A property line that climbs a ridge and drops into a hollow is a different job from the same footage on flat ground: how much of it a tracked machine can safely work, and from which side, decides the day more than the vegetation does. Rock near the surface is the second local factor, and it matters most where new posts have to go.
What the work involves
Establish where the line actually is
This comes before anything mechanical. The old wire, the tree line and the plat line are three different lines on plenty of properties, and clearing to the wrong one is a correction that costs more than the original work. Where the boundary is genuinely uncertain, that is a surveyor's determination and not a clearing decision.
Agree the corridor width
Wide enough to build in, wide enough to mow later, and no wider than the neighbour would accept. A common mistake is clearing only the width of the fence itself, which leaves nothing to work from and no way to maintain it — and a common overreach is taking mature trees on the line that were never in the way.
Mark what stays
Corner posts worth keeping, gates, mature trees you want left, culverts, buried utility runs, and anything on the neighbouring side of the line. Fence lines run past more buried services than open ground does, because they follow property boundaries and so do utilities.
Work the corridor
The head runs the strip, grinding brush, vines and small stems and leaving the material on the ground. Larger trees inside the corridor come down first. The finish is ground somebody can walk, build on, and get equipment along — not a lawn.
When it is the right call
Fence line clearing is usually the answer for:
- A new fence line being run where none existed
- An old fence being replaced, where the growth has to come off before the wire can
- A boundary that has disappeared into brush and needs to be visible again
- Regaining mower access along a line that has been let go
- Property lines being re-established before a sale or a survey
- Cross-fencing a field into paddocks
What it will not do
Worth knowing before you book.
- It does not remove or dispose of an existing fence. Where wire and posts are coming out, say so — that is separate work and it changes the method.
- It does not set posts, string wire or build anything. This is the strip, not the fence.
- It does not remove stumps. Stems are ground at or near ground level and the root systems stay, which matters where posts are going in.
- It does not determine where your boundary is. A line whose location is genuinely in question is a surveyor's job before it is a machine's.
- It does not stop regrowth. The species that take a fence line are the ones that resprout, and a cleared line needs maintaining or it grows back.
Questions
Fence Line Clearing questions we get.
How wide should a fence line be cleared?
Wide enough to build in and to mow later. Clearing only the width of the fence leaves nowhere to work from and grows back fastest. Agree the width in feet on the quote so two contractors are pricing the same corridor.
Do you take the old fence out?
Not as part of clearing the line. Removing wire, posts and stays is separate work with a separate cost, and old wire wound through vegetation is slow going. Say on the request whether the fence is staying or coming out.
Can you clear a line I share with a neighbour?
On your side of it, yes. Anything past the line is the neighbour's property and needs their agreement — which is worth having before the machine arrives rather than after, particularly where the line has not been walked in years.
Will the posts go in where the line was cleared?
Not necessarily where a stump was. Mulching leaves root systems in the ground, and a post going in where a tree came out is a different job. If new posts are part of the plan, mention it so the contractor can price stump removal at the post locations.
Can the line be cleared if it runs up a ridge?
Often, and the honest answer is section by section. Slope limits where a tracked machine can work safely, and the limit is a judgement made on site rather than from a map. Expect a contractor to walk it and tell you which parts are machine work and which are not, and treat one who quotes the whole line sight-unseen with some caution.
Where we cover
Fence line clearing across East Tennessee.
23 communities in seven counties. Most of the ground we get requests for is not inside a town at all.
Other services
Might be a better fit.
- Forestry MulchingOne machine grinds standing brush and small trees into mulch that stays on the ground as erosion cover.
- Land ClearingFull removal of trees, stumps and root mass to leave ground you can build on, farm or develop.
- Brush ClearingKnocking down overgrowth, thorn, vine and scrub to get a property back under control.
- Lot ClearingClearing a residential or commercial lot so a build, a driveway or a sale can move forward.
- Stump Grinding and RemovalThe stump is a separate job from the clearing, and it is the one most owners find out about afterwards.
- Pasture ReclamationBringing grown-in pasture and hay ground back to a surface that can be mowed, grazed or seeded again.
- Trail and Access ClearingCutting a usable path through timber for access, recreation or hunting without opening up the canopy.
- Invasive Growth RemovalClearing the aggressive species that take unmanaged ground here, and being straight about what one pass achieves.
- Storm Damage CleanupGetting downed trees and broken limbs off a property after weather, and the ground back to usable.